Fox correspondent Sara Carter has admitted there was no basis for a widespread report that a woman had been trampled to death by a police horse during the law enforcement effort to clear out the Canadian truck drivers, the Daily Beast reports.
The report was picked up by Senator Ted Cruz (Q-Quintana Roo) and conservative, um, “media personalities” Diamond and Silk, who broadcast the fake report over their social media accounts. Right wing and conspiracy website even ascribed a name to the woman: Roberta Paulsen. Ms. Paulsen had been taken to a hospital and died, but of an apparent heart attack, not a horse hoof stomp.
By Saturday, Carter had backed off the report, tweeting that her sources were wrong, and not that she was wrong for reporting something she hadn’t verified. Carter’s Twitter feed is riddled with posts that contain qualifying statements like “We’re waiting for confirmation that….” Spreading unconfirmed information makes one a gossip, not a reporter.